The Choice
by lazypadawan
Summary: Originally called "The Gift" on AO3. A crone offers Kylo Ren two possible solutions to what troubles him the most. Which will he choose?
1. Chapter 1

The four stormtroopers entered the cold, spare space of the throne room, a withered crone in binders in their custody. The Supreme Leader narrowed his brown eyes, confused at the sight of an elderly human woman whose presence in the Force was unlike any other he'd sensed before. She was not powerful like he was but both the light and the dark mixed and flowed through her like waters in an estuary. There was something else too; dark magic. She had somehow found her way aboard the Finalizer; the officer who had reported her to his chain of command believed she had stowed away aboard a shuttle from the planet they were now orbiting.

A mere stowaway was no concern for the Supreme Leader of the First Order. It was what had happened after she had been apprehended that brought her into this inner sanctum. The reporting officer, a hardened man of war, had been in utter tears when speaking to his commander. When the troopers seized her and reported her to the deck officer, she had looked upon him with her cataract-hazed eyes and with a smirk, spoke of his deceased wife who had taken her own life, succumbing to inner demons not even the best specialists in the galaxy could heal. She had even known how the wife's body had been found when there was no possible way for a peasant woman on a backwater world could've known. The commanding officer knew this was no matter for the likes of General Hux, who had no understanding of these things.

"Leave us," Kylo Ren commanded the troops. He had his own guards, four members of his Knights of Ren, in place of the Praetorian Guards he and.. _she_ …had decimated after slaying Snoke. They hovered in the shadows, ready to protect their master.

When the four stormtroopers left in the lift, Kylo boomed, "Come forward," drawing up his full height upon a throne that was itself large and imposing. The tiny old woman walked alone, still in binders, her head up and her cataract stare unwavering. "Stop." She froze in place, unblinking. "Who are you?"

"Ganusha," she said in a strong, clear voice that belied her aged appearance. "I am a seer and a witch."

"Like the Nightsisters of Dathomir?"

"I know of their traditions," Ganusha said. "My mentor once learned from Mother Talsin herself."

"I could sense dark magic around you," Kylo confirmed. He leaned forward, rubbing his chin. He did not fear this woman. Dark magic or the Dark Side of the Force, he was more than a match for anyone. Unlike the Jedi or the Sith, Snoke had permitted Kylo to study the occult as well as the Force. "So, why are you here?"

"I have come to request favors of you, my lord," Ganusha said.

Kylo huffed. As Supreme Leader, people were always asking things of him: the First Order's leaders, diplomats, business and banking leaders, crime bosses, tribal chiefs, planetary monarchs, and so forth. No wonder Snoke hid himself away most of the time. Mere civilians like this woman rarely ever got through to him, and that was generally to beg for mercy. Was this Ganusha seeking such mercy for herself or a family member? "What is it?"

"For starters, remove these from my wrists," Ganusha said, lifting up her bound arms. "I will do you no harm."

"Fine." Kylo gestured casually and the binders clattered to the floor. A deeply-pleased smile creased Ganusha's weathered face. "What else?"

"The local chieftain wants to fine me 500 credits for an unkempt garden. I am a poor, old woman and cannot afford the fine. It could cost me my home. Will you help me get the fine waived now that the First Order is the overriding authority now?"

Kylo was incredulous. A woman who claims to be a witch, who at least has some power in the Force, went through this trouble over 500 credits and a simple local dispute? He glowered with contempt, ready to have stormtroopers drag her out and air lock her just for wasting his time. But with a deep breath, he realized there had to be something else at work. As he had been taught as both a Jedi padawan and as Snoke's apprentice, all is never as it seems. He had no idea what her true agenda was but in order to find out, he had to play along. "Consider it done," he said.

"Thank you, my lord," Ganusha said, tears streaming from her eyes as she fell upon her knees, her withered thin hands clasped together. "You have my eternal gratitude."

Kylo kept his expression the same but he was shocked to find Ganusha's display…touching. No one had ever thanked him this much before for anything, much less from a stranger. All he had seen from others was fear and hatred. Well, except from one other…

Kylo banished the thought. He still didn't trust Ganusha but she did seem in the moment completely sincere. Snoke would've berated him for this cheap display of compassion to a nobody but Snoke wasn't alive anymore. Kylo was Supreme Leader, guided his own conscience now and as far as he was concerned, this cost him nothing and there was possibly even something to be gained out of it. If he was careful, of course. He pressed a button on his throne, signaling for waiting stormtroopers to escort Ganusha to a shuttle back down to her planet. "Good day, Ganusha. My men will escort you back home while one of my diplomats will speak with your chieftain."

"Thank you, thank you my lord," she sobbed with a broad smile that exposed her crooked teeth. She willingly turned and walked back to the lift with the stormtroopers. "I will not forget this act of kindness!"

The throne room was silent once more when the lift doors closed. He summoned via hologram one of the Finalizer's diplomats, instructing him to order the chieftain to waive the fine, or paying it for the old woman if necessary. While shows of intimidation and force were often necessary, he wasn't going to waste a drop of blood on this.

Later, Kylo retreated to his private chambers to go through his regimen of meditation, training, studying yet more debriefings left for him, and a meal alone in his private dining room.

He was reading yet more debriefings of a raid on Resistance forces in the Chommel IV sector when he felt the room suddenly grow very cold, as though someone had turned the air conditioner to arctic levels. Kylo rose out of his chair, perplexed. He felt something similar to the presence of the Dark Side but not like himself nor that of the deceased Snoke. And then, before him was Ganusha.

"How did you get in here?" he demanded, reaching for his lightsaber.

"I told you, I am a seer and a witch. I got here the same way I did before; I used my magic." She pointed a crooked finger at Kylo's hand on his lightsaber hilt. "Your kind, always reaching for your laser swords," she said dismissively. "I am not here to harm you. In fact, I am here to offer you a gift to repay you for your kindness."

"There's nothing you have that I would want," Kylo said.

"Is that so? You may be Supreme Leader, but you don't have all that you want. I don't have to see into your soul to know that you carry so much pain but there's something else that is causing you torment, something that came along recently."

Kylo frowned. He would've known if she was trying to peer into his mind and he was more than adept enough to block this little crone.

"Someone broke your heart, my lord," she continued, her cataract stare boring into his brown eyes. "I offer you a gift. Two ways to heal that wound and make you whole."

The young man gaped at her. His entire being screamed, _"Yes, please, help me!"_ But he had to remain skeptical. After all, he didn't trust her. He swallowed and said, "What do you know of my so-called broken heart? I am powerful already. I am practically master of the galaxy. The Dark Side sustains me. My only concerns are the Resistance and treason within my ranks. I no longer have a heart to break."

Ganusha burst out laughing. "Do you realize how ridiculous you sound, my lord? You are a poor liar!"

Anger boiled in Kylo's veins. He was not going to be mocked by this hag. He lifted his hand to choke her but she laughed even harder. "I found a sore spot, didn't I? You don't like that I've seen your deepest secret or that I'm not cowering in fear before you! Control your anger, my impulsive lord. At least long enough for you to hear what I have to say."

Gritting his teeth, his lips trembling, Kylo dropped his arm back to his side. "Get on with your business then. What is this gift you're offering me?"

Ganusha smiled knowingly. "Who troubles you the most, my lord? It would be one Rey of Jakku, the last Jedi, heroine of the Resistance, yes?"

His breath caught at the mention of her name, a shiver going down his spine. "The scavenger girl from that dirty backwater planet? She is an enemy of the First Order," he said, lifting his head imperiously and setting his shoulders back. "A threat to peace with her dangerous, outdated religion."

Ganusha wryly lifted her wiry gray brow. "Is that all? I get the feeling it's much more…personal."

Kylo struggled to maintain his calm façade. She can't possibly know about the Force Bond or the complicated emotions roiling in his gut ever since the battle at Crait. But she'd just said he was nursing a broken heart… "She injured me. She killed my master," he said, cursing himself for the slightly defensive tone of his voice.

"You don't miss Supreme Leader Snoke any more than I miss the wart that had been on my arse," Ganusha said with a dismissive wave of her withered hand. "The only place she truly injured you was in there," she said, pointing at his chest. "It's all over your face, my lord. In those haunted eyes." She stepped closer to Kylo. "I offer you the choice of one of two gifts, either of which will solve your scavenger girl problem."

He looked down at the crone quizzically. "Solve it?" He leaned in closer to her. "What are they?" he said, just above a whisper.

Ganusha grinned at him as though he was the fly that just landed on her web. "Sit, my lord, and I will show you."


	2. Chapter 2

Kylo took a seat at his dining room table and Ganusha stood before him, reaching into her pouch for a small pyramid-shaped gold-colored device that looked a little like a holocron. She waved her hand over it and it emitted a scarlet glow from its center. "Not one of these Jedi or Sith technologies," she said. "This runs purely on magic." The red light grew brighter in intensity until it enveloped the entire room.

"Your first choice of gift," Ganusha announced. "You are both evenly-matched now. She cannot defeat you in battle, nor can you defeat her. Your skills and powers are derived from one another and as your own powers have increased, so have hers. The knowledge she gains becomes your knowledge. You're both at an impasse. But you both rely solely on the Force.

"I can offer you the advantage of magic. You have no knowledge of it, so she does not either. I can cast a hex upon her, curse her so that misfortune befalls her. Then you may be able to capture her, defeat her, destroy her."

Before he could react, the dining room faded away and in its place was what appeared to be ruins of a castle or a temple. Instead of the cold stars cape of space were steel gray skies of some unfamiliar world.

"What happened to the ship?!" a bewildered Kylo demanded of Ganusha. "Where are we?!"

"A vision of what this gift can accomplish for you," the old woman said with a smirk. She led him through the ruins, stepping over broken masonry and tile. Suddenly, there was Rey, in her Jedi-like tunic and pants, lightsaber hilt in hand, entering through a crumbling stone arch. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her face, terror in her eyes. He almost called out to her but he controlled his tongue.

She stopped in her tracks, her mouth wide open but she didn't say a word. She ignited her lightsaber, a different one from the broken one that had belonged to his grandfather, the lasers extending in a golden tone from each end into a staff.

Acting on instinct, Kylo ignited his own with a stomp of his leg, his red crackling blade springing to life. She leaped at him, landing right in front of him and swinging her staff forward. He blocked her blow, then pushed her back.

They dueled, Ganush watching from the sidelines with a deranged grin. Then she chanted something in a language Kylo had never heard before, waving her hand in Rey's direction. The Jedi's lightsaber fizzled and extinguished. Rey gaped at her lightsaber hilt in utter horror and confusion, Kylo advancing on her. She tossed it aside and reached forward with her hand, pulling a large piece of stone into the air with the Force. Kylo knew she intended to throw it at him, so he turned toward it to stop its trajectory with his own powers but the stone sailed around him and glanced off of Rey's temple, knocking her to the ground. He stood over her, broken and bleeding, her eyes wide.

"Nothing's gone right," she whispered. "I don't understand…"

He stood over her, clutching his lightsaber hilt. The blade crackled, its flickering red light illuminating her terrified face. Conflicting emotions washed over him; anger at her for leaving him behind, fury at her choosing the enemy over him, but also a searing longing to be with her again. How he'd longed to open the connection with her again, praying the Force would connect them but so far those prayers went unanswered.

He could kill her right now. His words to Luke on Crait, uttered in rage, echoed in his memories. _I'll destroy her_. It would end the war for the Resistance would have no Jedi on its side. She wasn't the only enemy the First Order had but she was its most dangerous.

But he also knew severing their bond would be a scar within his soul that would never heal, one that would run deeper than taking Han Solo's life. Because…

Breathing heavily and perspiring, he turned to Ganusha and demanded, "What's the other gift?"


	3. Chapter 3

Ganusha laughed. "Wouldn't you love to know?" She waved her hand over the holocron-like gold pyramid and its blinding red light obscured the wounded Rey at his feet and the ruins. Confused, Kylo turned as he was entirely enveloped in light. He couldn't even see Ganusha anymore.

Then the light faded and Kylo breathed a sigh of relief as he and the witch were back in his quarters aboard the Finalizer. He extinguished his lightsaber and hooked it back on his belt. "Enough of these games," Kylo said, still pale and sweating from the strange vision of nearly killing Rey. "Just show me the second gift so we can get this over and done with."

"All you have to do is enter your sleeping quarters," Ganusha said with a knowing grin.

Kylo's eyebrow arched. He glared at the woman with suspicion. "What waits for me there?"

"You'll see, my lord."

"If there's any harm to me, I swear I will kill you," he growled.

"You and your temper," Ganusha cackled. "Just go."

Sighing, Kylo strode toward his sleeping quarters, expecting anything…a Gundark, bounty hunters, assassins, a platoon of Resistance troops, Snoke's ghost..and ready to fight any of them.

Instead was Rey again, reclining on his bed, and dressed in black lace undergarments that left little to the imagination. "What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed.

"My love," she said with a smile on her plush lips. "You've returned." She rose off the bed, strode over to him, threw her arms around his shoulders, and pulled him down for a passionate kiss.

Her lips were warm and tasted like rare Naboo honey. His shock and surprise gave way to human instinct, putting his arms around her, pulling her against him, and returning her kiss.

"I don't understand," he gasped when their lips parted. His mouth felt swollen from their brief passion. "How did you get in here? Why this after you've left me?"

She reached up with an index finger and pressed it gently on the tip of his nose. "I've come to my senses and realized that I love you. I love you more than the Resistance, my friends, or even the Jedi. My place is here, with you. I've left them all behind. Now we can spend our lives together."

Kylo's eyes flooded with tears, lost in her soft hazel gaze. "You'll rule with me?" he said, almost frantic with the need to hear her say, "Yes."

She nodded. "We will make the galaxy into what we want it to be," she said. "A peaceful, just galaxy where there's no more slavery or war or poverty or crime syndicates. No more of the kind of people who have hurt us."

Kylo couldn't help himself. He pulled her in for another kiss, this one deeper and hungrier. His tongue stroked hers, hands roamed over her mostly unclad body. Desire caught fire in his veins and he felt his arousal straining against his pants. He pushed her back onto the bed and kissed her neck, his hands eager to remove her undergarments. She felt so good, tasted so good, smelled like wildflowers, her creamy skin dotted with freckles. Her hand found rest on his manhood and he gritted his teeth.

This is what he wanted more than anything. More than a throne. More than revenge and death. To have her here in his arms, willing to love him. He wanted to scream to Ganusha, wherever she was, that this was the gift he would accept. His skin felt like it was on fire. He paused, panting with need, to tear off his tunic and boots, and yanked down his pants. She looked up at him with love and desire, stripping off her brassiere and pushing the panties down over her hips, slipping them off her legs. Like a gundark in heat, he pounced on her and they greedily explored each other's bodies.

Then Kylo found himself writhing naked on his bed, Rey vanishing into thin air. Ganusha entered the room, laughing in near hysterics.

The Supreme Leader's lust exploded into fury. His entire upper body turned red, veins popping on his neck, his eyes wide. He swiftly seized a pillow to cover his swollen genitals and without thinking, he lifted his hand and with the Force, slammed the laughing witch into the wall. She stopped laughing with the thud of her body. "How dare you!" he snarled. "You will pay for humiliating me!"

Ganusha's hands went to her throat, her eyes bulging with fear. "Stop," she choked out. "I was only…trying…to bring you…the one…you love."

"What are you talking about?!" He was nearly foaming at the mouth.

"Put me down and let me explain it to you," she bit out, struggling to breathe. Kylo's hand dropped back to his side and the witch fell unceremoniously to the floor. She gasped and coughed for several moments, then she rose to her feet. By then the Supreme Leader had put on his pants and covered his chest with a robe. His anger simmered down to embers. "If you do not want to kill her, then I can put a love spell on her so that she will come to you, completely yours, devoted forever."

Kylo stared at Ganusha incredulously. It was like staring at Snoke's throne on the Supremacy-empty but for the lower half of his body—all over again. What he'd wanted with all of his heart and soul, even more than power or the entire galaxy, was being offered to him for the taking. It would be so easy and harmless. She would leave her friends, her Jedi ways, her doomed cause and become his lover, his Empress, his wife. In his mind's eye he could see her clad in the finest shimmersilk gowns, adorned in jewels, her beauty a radiance greater than a thousand suns. She would want for nothing. She would be safe, protected, cared for, loved. She would be feared and respected, perhaps even more so than him. He would show her all of the ways of the Force and together, they would create a new universe of their own making.

He was giddy, tears welled in his eyes just as they had on that strange night he'd reached across the galaxy to touch her hand. Just as he parted his lips to tell Ganusha, "Yes," the crone turned toward the doorway of his sleeping quarters. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

"I am leaving you for the night to decide which gift you want and I will return at midnight tomorrow for your answer. I will not accept your answer before then." She walked out of the sleeping quarters.

"Wait, I command you to stop!" he bellowed.

But Ganusha kept going as though she didn't hear him. Kylo stomped off after her. "I'm ordering you as Supreme Leader to…"

He found himself in the main part of his quarters completely alone, the room silent but for the hum of the Finalizer's engines.


	4. Chapter 4

he Supreme Leader sat at the table within his quarters' sitting area, alone in the dark but for a solitary glowrod on the table that cast his frown in green light.

Ever since Ganusha departed the night before, Kylo had castigated himself for letting the witch keep him off-balance and dragging him into her visions. He knew better. He had considered consulting his occult knowledge to bring her forth sooner but he thought he would let her believe she was entering into this on her own terms, that she still had the upper hand.

He took a deep breath, certain of his answer to Ganusha. And should she press him further, he knew how to deal with her.

At midnight, Ganusha strolled into his quarters from a steel wall. The crone was dressed entirely in black, a shawl highlighted with silver thread around her shoulders. The green light of the glowrod made her features look sinister, especially her cataract-obscured eye. "So, my lord. Have you made your choice on which gift you will accept?"

"Yes," Kylo said, his voice calm. He kept his expression placid, his thoughts obscured. He folded his gloved hands on his lap.

"So, which is it?"

Kylo said, "I reject the hex. It's dishonorable. Whatever I might think of the girl's twisted ideology or her association with criminals, she is courageous, intelligent, cunning, and potentially a great warrior. I respect that and if the day comes that I must kill her, she should die a warrior's death. Fairly and honorably."

Ganusha laughed. "But you don't want to kill her, do you?"

Kylo stared back impassively. "I would prefer it if she were to…see things my way."

"Ah, of course. I saw what you did in the second vision. The passion, the longing, the desire you have for her is so much greater than any anger for what she's done to you. So, you accept the love spell."

Kylo shook his head. "No."

"What?" Ganusha said, her face contorting with shock.

"You heard me, witch. I am not accepting the love spell either."

"You cannot do that!" she spat indignantly.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do on my own ship," Kylo hissed warningly.

"What of your feelings for her?" an exasperated Ganusha demanded. "They torment you, keep you up at night, disturb your peace. You don't want her dead because of how it would grieve you, break you in a way you haven't been before. Do you not instead want her in your arms, giving you her love at above all else?!"

"I do," Kylo said, leaning forward. "But not this way."

"Then in what way?!"

"Of her own free will. Out of her own love for me. Enchantment isn't real, it's tricking her."

"The feelings could be real over time, my lord."

"It wouldn't change what was done in the first place. It would all be based on a falsehood. As much as I want her, I want that look she gave me in her vision what she truly feels. I want that kiss to be from her own heart, her own desires. I know she has them but…" He shook his head, pushing back his emotions.

Ganusha's expression grew cold like a winter storm approaching over a plain. "Snoke always said sentimentalism was your weakness, your family's weakness! You would rather live with the pain of being in love with your enemy than to possess what you truly want."

Something old and tired pained Kylo's expression. "That's the thing. I can't possess her. Deep down, I know it. Besides, Snoke is dead. I don't give a damn what he thinks of me anymore."

Ganusha turned, hiding her shock. "Very well, my lord." She peered over her shoulder. "What if I were to offer the same to Rey of Jakku? Give her the chance to kill you or turn you the way she wants?"

"She wouldn't accept it either," Kylo said. "I know her."

"Hmph," Ganusha said. She disappeared in a green iridescent cloud.

Sighing, Kylo stood up from the table. Was this the Dark Side testing him? Or was it perhaps the Cosmic Force itself? Perhaps this was nothing more than a witch meddling in his affairs.


End file.
